


Succumb to the Sea

by occultclysms



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Drinking, Enemies to Lovers to Enemies, Kissing, M/M, Mermaids, Sirens, Strangers to Lovers, Swords, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, but not really, fishermen, pirate chiches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25260922
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occultclysms/pseuds/occultclysms
Summary: how to be a runaway princess (a comprehensive three step guide)1. don't be a princess2. enlist the help of a band of useless pirates (and mermaids)3. definitely do NOT under ANY cirmcumstances fall in love with said pirates
Relationships: Do Kyungsoo | D.O/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39
Collections: Round 4: Spring and Summer





	Succumb to the Sea

**Author's Note:**

> so there's transphobia in it, but no one is like 'ew trans people' more like no one has ever even Heard of trans people (it's the 1880s) 
> 
> also note: i am trans so this is based off my experiences being trans. just keep that in mind before criticizing the way kyungsoo is written
> 
> flapdoodle: a sexually incompetent man, who is either too young to have had sex or one who is too old to attempt it
> 
> ^ this becomes relevant later i promise

A knock comes at the door, and Kyungsoo tilts his head up. The door opens and Kyungsoo’s younger brother, Sehun, comes in.

“I know you’re not the biggest fan of your birthday, so I got you something smaller that I hope you’ll like,” Sehun says, closing the door behind him. Kyungsoo is sitting on his bed, layers of his dress spread all across the expensive blanket. Sehun rests on the corner, carefully not to mess up Kyungsoo’s dress, and Kyungsoo wishes that Sehun would just relax around him. All of the stupid formalities.

Sehun produces a box from behind his back and Kyungsoo takes it gently, noticing the state of his nails by accident. Painted a soft pink and perfectly styled, Kyungsoo hates them. Obviously, being a royal calls for perfect appearances, but Sehun just has soft hands and bland nails. It’s another small thing that makes Kyungsoo’s life so entrapping.

Kyungsoo opens the box and has to suppress his initial reaction. Inside, is a dainty tiara accented with purple, pink, and gold all coming together with a purple gem in the center. Kyungsoo knows literally nothing about jewels, but he assumes the gem is rare and Sehun actually put some thought into this. It isn’t Sehun’s fault that Kyungsoo can’t be himself, and besides, this would be an extremely thoughtful gift if Kyungsoo had the same personality of his persona.

“Oh, wow, thank you so much Sehun,” Kyungsoo says, trying to sound as happy as he can manage. “It’s really beautiful.” Holding the crown in his hands, Kyungsoo lets the light shine over it. The beauty really cannot be properly put into words.

“I’m glad you like it.” Sehun smiles brightly and Kyungsoo’s heart breaks because he actually hates it. “I know you want to get in all your personal time that you can before the party tomorrow— which for the record, I tried to put a stop to, but no one would listen to me.”

“I appreciate that a lot, Sehun.” In fact, that might be the thing Kyungsoo appreciates the most about Sehun. He will always go out of his way to make sure Kyungsoo is comfortable and safe. Maybe it’s just one brother looking out for another. Even though Sehun doesn’t know Kyungsoo is his brother.

“Yeah, but I promise that once I’m king, you’ll never have to host another birthday party again or do anything that’s just a waste of your time,” Sehun declares and Kyungsoo feels like crying. How is he supposed to tell Sehun that he’s going to leave him?

“That really means a lot,” Kyungsoo replies. Sehun gets up off the bed and walks to the door.

“I hope you have a great birthday tomorrow, Jeongyeon.”

* * *

Once Sehun is long gone, Kyungsoo gets up off his bed and goes to his nightstand, pulling out the fancy scissors he stole from a seamstress. Kyungsoo is done being a princess. He takes the scissors and cuts them right down the center of the stupid dress he’s wearing. The fabric splits easily, but the corset takes a bit of cutting to split it open. Kyungsoo heaves in a breath and lets his lungs fill with air properly once again. Shimmying out of the dress isn’t too difficult and leaves Kyungsoo in his chemise.Kyungsoo grabs an old linen shirt (also stolen) and slides it on. He looks at himself in the mirror and while this is an improvement, this isn’t enough. There’s still the outline of his breasts which show through the shirt. Where’s the medical tape? That should be good enough for now.

Flinging open the first aid drawer, Kyungsoo finds medical tape. He takes his shirt off and wraps the tape all around his chest. One benefit to being a princess with high standards means that he’s breasts are on the smaller side due to him being skinny. They seem to disappear beneath the tape and Kyungsoo puts the shirt back on with no issues.

This is all great and lots of progress, but what about his hair? Long, straight, black hair reaches his elbows and Kyungsoo has always hated it. Never took care of it when he was a kid and constantly begged for his hair to be shorter like Sehun’s. Picking up the scissors again, Kyungsoo grabs a chunk of his hair in one hand and cuts it off with the other. What does he do with the hair though? He doesn’t want them to think he ran away of his own accord. The trash bin seems to stare at Kyungsoo. Into the trash it goes then. Kyungsoo will just have to empty it before he leaves.

Another chunk is cut off and thrown away. Now Kyungsoo’s hair reaches his shoulders and that’s better, but there can always be improvements. More pieces of hair are cut off until Kyungsoo’s hair is at his ears and choppy. Kyungsoo runs the scissors carefully over the back, cutting it as short as he can. That might be good enough actually. Like it’s not perfect, but his hair looks much closer to Sehun’s. Except for the fact that Sehun actually has someone properly cut his hair. but alas, Kyungsoo is not a professional.

Now what? Kyungsoo needs pants, some special period rags, and a coat to hide his breasts a bit more. Or just his curves in general. 

Kyungsoo throws on a random coat from his closet (this one stolen from Sehun) and shoves all the jewels, including the new tiara, into a nap sack for later. They are worth lots of a money, so that wil get him off this stupid fucking island at least. Hopefully it won’t get him robbed though. One piece of jewelry stares back at him from the inside of the bag; the ring is another gift from Sehun, but this one doesn’t quite fit Kyungsoo’s finger. Instead, Kyungsoo loops it onto a chain and slips the chain over his head and under his shirt.

The feeling of the metal against his skin brings Kyungsoo a bit of comfort so he doesn’t miss Sehun so much. Even though he technically hasn’t left, Kyungsoo knows he’s never going to see him again, which is a scary thought. But this is for the best.

Setting aside any sappy feelings, Kyungsoo packs up all of his remaining belongings. One last look around his room and Kyungsoo is opening his bedroom door and sneaking down the hallway to the servant stairwell. He doesn’t have the slightest clue where he’s going, just away from here. 

Out of the palace— off this island— anywhere is better than here. Doesn’t really matter where. 

Kyungsoo reaches the bottom of the stairwell without any issues, but he pauses and listens for voices. Two people are talking behind the doors, and once Kyungsoo catches the words ‘birthday party’ and ‘Jeongyeon,’ he feels all the more solidified in his decison to leave.

The voices disappear down the hallway and Kyungsoo dashes out the servants door. Fresh air has never felt so good. Now he has to get past the palace gates and down to the pier and hope some sailor will take him away. Looking around the gardens, Kyungsoo doesn’t see anyone, which is a good sign. And Kyungsoo can literally see the palace wall which is very jump-able. Hopefully.

Sprinting through the gardens probably isn’t the most inconspicuous thing Kyungsoo could have done, but freedom is right there in front of him and he can’t wait any longer. Kyungsoo pauses, skidding to a stop in front of the wall. This thing looked a lot shorter from hundreds of feet away. It also looked easier to climb.

The wall is made of cobblestone, so technically Kyungsoo should be able to climb it, but these shoes and his bag will make sure that he doesn’t. Popping off his shoes, Kyungsoo tosses them over the wall pretty easily. His feet are now covered in dirt, but that’s a small price to pay.

Kyungsoo is less hesitant to throw his bag over. Inside the big bag is the smaller one with all the jewels and even if Kyungsoo doesn’t care for them, he knows if they are dented they won’t be worth nearly as much. But what other option does he have? The bag is thrown over with much more thought than the shoes, but over the side it goes.

Kyungsoo latches onto two stones that stick out a bit from the wall and use them to pull his feet off the ground and onto the wall. Holy fuck this is hard. One hand moves up hesitantly and the other follows. Same process is repeated with his feet. He’s only two feet off the ground for fucks sakes.

A few more minutes of struggling later, Kyungsoo reaches the top of the wall. He straddles it and looks out at the kingdom. Everything is so pretty from up here, but this is not the place he is going. First off, he needs to figure out how to get down from here.

Kyungsoo wants to be smart about this. He doesn’t want to break his arm when he doesn’t have to, so he adjusts himself so both his legs hang over the side that he wants to get off of and grabs the edge of the wall with his hands. As slowly as he can manage, Kyungsoo lowers one of his legs down the wall so his foot is latching onto it. He does the same with his other leg and adjusts his hands. Now there’s only like four feet between him and the ground, so maybe he can just drop. Fuck, didn’t Sehun explain some physics thing that applies here. Force or something… If Kyungsoo is remembering this right, if he drops straight down, his body will want to keep going. So how does he help keep it going in a way that won’t hurt? Rolling! There’s grass right beneath him, so he just needs to push off the wall and roll away.

Easier said than done. Kyungsoo jumps and rolls like he wanted, but the initial impact still hurts like hell and there’s now dirt all over him. Plus side, his shoes are together and easy to slip back on and his bag seems to be perfectly fine. Running is what Kyungsoo wants to do, but his body says no running for a bit, so he picks himself up and walks down the grassy field until he reaches the street.

Following the road leads to the beach. Along the beach is the pier, but Kyungsoo’s eyes focus on a single figure right on the edge of the beach. Walking down the sand, Kyungsoo tries to make out a bit more, but all he can see is that they are wearing a red overcoat and what looks like a pirate hat. 

Pirates are something of a superstition around here. Everyone knows they technically exist, but no one has actually seen one in person before. Chanyeol Park, the most famous of them all, is so infamous to the point where Junmyeon, leader of the royal navy,has even sought to have him arrested. 

Kyungsoo sits down next to the stranger and removes his shoes and sticks his feet into the water, same as the stranger. There’s a bottle of alcohol in his hand and his pants are rolled up.

“Who are you?”

“I’m Kyungsoo, and you look lonely.”

“Maybe I am,” the stranger replies. He turns to Kyungsoo so his chin rests on his shoulder and Kyungsoo recognizes him almost immediately. Chanyeol Park. “Doesn’t explain why you are here though.” Kyungsoo decides to switch the topic.

“Why are you out here, drunk by yourself?” Kyungsoo asks, trying to keep his voice as low as possible and keep his shoulders slightly slouched over. Medical tape can only do so much.

“Don’t you know who I am?” Chanyeol replies and it’s true. Kyungsoo does know who Chanyeol is— he’s the most feared pirate in the East Sea, but Kyungsoo is desperate for lift-off this stupid island.

“Yeah, I do,” Kyungsoo declares. “You’re Chanyeol Park, feared pirate of the East Sea. But right now you’re drunk off your rocks and I need a lift out of here.”

“Who says I’m going anywhere with you?”

“Me. There must be a reason that you’re out here alone.” Kyungsoo puts his hands on his hips and hopes that he’s convincing enough.

“I’m heartbroken,” Chanyeol reveals. “I got dumped by the person I thought I loved most, but they clearly don’t care about me at all.”

“So, why not go on an adventure? Isn’t there one you’ve been putting off for a long time because of this person,” Kyungsoo tries. If fucking Chanyeol Park doesn’t have an adventure going on right now, who will?

“There’s this myth about this pearl,” Chanyeol admits. “I’ve wanted to look for it for a long time, but I never got around to it.”

“I will help you with everything I have then,” Kyungsoo replies. “I think I would make a fine addition to your crew.”

“What crew?” Chanyeol snorts. “We all went our separate ways when I said I wanted to take a break and spend time with my partner. I know where they are though.”

“Do you have a ship?”

“Of course I have my ship. Then I guess that’s our first point of action. Find my crew,” Chanyeol declares, standing up too fast and then sitting back down immediately.

“Do you have a big crew?” Kyungsoo is all up for adventure, but also needs to know how difficult it’ll be to keep his secret. The longer he’s away from shore, the higher the likelihood of an incident.

“Just me and three guys; Jongdae, Jongin, and Baekhyun. Very talented in many ways,” Chanyeol mumbles, laying back on the sand with a hand over his eyes. “Baekhyun is super stabby and effective, Jongin is like a sharpshooter and Jongdae is our chef who is very scary.”

“A chef is a part of your crew?” A crew of four and one of them is a chef. Is this really Chanyeol Park?

“There’s a reason I don’t have scurvy,” Chanyeol retorts. “So, are you in or what?”

“Yes, captain.” Chanyeol cracks a smile at being called captain. “Let’s go and get your crew.”

* * *

“Get out of my restaurant or I will remove your balls!” Definitely not what Kyungsoo was expecting to hear when he walked in. Chanyeol doesn’t seem fazed, so it must not be a big deal. Someone runs past them and out the door, presumably the person who would like to keep their balls.

Kyungsoo can’t help but find it funny if whoever is throwing threats tried to threaten Kyungsoo like that. Kyungsoo doesn’t have balls so he’s clearly invincible. He stifles a giggle and looks to Chanyeol for guidance.

“Jongdae,” Chanyeol calls. “Quit threatening ball removals and come out here.” Somehow Kyungsoo isn’t even surprised. Chanyeol is obviously much more of a mess than the rumors cared to explain. So it only fits that his crew is in the same state.

A small man wearing an eye patch comes into sight and Kyungsoo finds it ironic that the non-pirate has an eye patch and Chanyeol doesn’t.

“Chanyeol?” Jongdae seems surprised to see Chanyeol at all and doesn’t even acknowledge Kyungsoo which is probably for the best. “I thought you were with—”

“Ah ah ah, we do not say that name here,” Chanyeol silences.

“Not even the code name?” Jongdae clarifies. Chanyeol glances at Kyungsoo who stares right back.

“Especially not the code name.” Chanyeol clears his throat. “Jongdae, this is Kyungsoo, the newest member of my crew and we need you because we are going on another adventure.”

“And what’s in it for me?” Jongdae asks and Chanyeol looks around the restaurant. Most people are sitting out of earshot or outside, but even still, Chanyeol leans in close and whispers to Jongdae.

“We are going searching for the pearl,” Chanyeol whispers and Jongdae perks up immediately. “I have the map and I’m finally ready to go on that journey.”

“Alright, let’s do it,” Jongdae says. “But first, won’t we need to steal some supplies from this fine establishment?” Chanyeol cracks a huge smile.

“I do think that’s a great plan,” Chanyeol agrees. “What do we take?”

“Everything you can,” Jongdae replies. He rushes back to the back room to pull out an empty dish cart on wheels. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo start piling kitchenware,including Kyungsoo’s bags, onto the cart. “Put all the pans and heavy shit on here. I assume you still have silverware and plates?”

“Uhhh, not as many as you would like,” Chanyeol replies sheepishly and Jongdae shoots him a glare. “But I will grab lots right now, so it’s not an issue.” That seems to appease Jongdae and then they are both racing to the kitchen to steal. The restaurant patrons have all left, leaving plates of food on the tables and maybe Kyungsoo steals a bit off someone’s plate before going behind the counter to grab several bottles of alcohol. Considering Chanyeol is a pirate, he must like to drink. Kyungsoo has never tasted any alcohol except for the tiniest bit of wine once and it didn’t taste great, but maybe whatever is in these bottles will taste better.

Kyungsoo places all the bottles on the counter and then tries to find some easy way to carry them. There’s a crate under the bar, so Kyungsoo grabs that and places as many in as he can. 

A scream from the kitchen causes his attention to turn back to whatever antics Chanyeol and Jongdae are up to. Kyungsoo walks back into the kitchen, fully ready to square up if needed, but instead he just sees Chanyeol on the floor and Jongdae wielding a pan above him.

“What are you two doing?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Chanyeol is an idiot and I can’t stand him,” Jongdae says, lowering the pan. Chanyeol looks at Kyungsoo with big doe eyes and shrugs. Kyungsoo ignores how that makes his stomach fill with butterflies and looks back at Jongdae.

“Are you two done back here because I have a crate of a liquor that should go on the cart,” Kyungsoo says. Jongdae and Chanyeol look at each other and cheer.

“Smart thinking, Soo,” Chanyeol replies, hopping up from the floor. “I think we have enough pans and things on the cart already so let's fill the rest with alcohol.” Jongdae pushes the cart forwards and Kyungsoo swallows harshly. That cart is taller than any of them and definitely a tipping over risk. This isn’t safe at all, but well, Kyungsoo is hanging out with a fucking pirate after all.

Once Jongdae is out from behind the counter, Chanyeol grabs the crate of liquor and lifts it onto one of the levels of the cart. Chanyeol looks under the counter and produces another crate which he fills with more alcohol. Kyungsoo nods in approval and grabs two bottles himself, setting them in, causing their hands to brush.

Kyungsoo ignores the tiny bit of heat he feels in his cheeks. For a pirate, Chanyeol has soft hands. That’s not what Kyungsoo should be thinking about right now.

“Ready?” Chanyeol asks, lifting the crate onto the cart which is now overstocked with things.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Kyungsoo replies, swallowing down any remaining fear. He wants freedom and this is the closest he’s getting, so might as well jump headfirst into it.

“Great.” Chanyeol gives Kyungsoo a wink then he starts pushing the cart forwards, right out the front door of the bar. Jongdae appears on the opposite side, helping Chanyeol stabilize everything. Kyungsoo walks idly behind them, unsure of how to help. He was raised as a princess who has never had to do anything in his life ever. Not even clear his plate or dress himself. It’s such a strange experience now because he’s so knowledgeless. He wants to help, but also doesn’t want to make things worse.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” Kyungsoo asks timidly.

“Yes, actually,” Chanyeol replies. Pull the pistol out from under my jacket and shoot at anyone that tries to stop us.” Kyungsoo mouth goes dry. “Doesn’t matter if you have experience or not— you probably won’t hit anyone. No one has figured how to make an accurate gun really. Plus, gun powder can get messy which is something they should really work on.”

“You sound like an inventor rather than a pirate,” Jongdae says.

“I can appreciate how far we have come with weaponry, but I also want to acknowledge how far we still have to go. It’s really fascinating though. You should ask Baekhyun about swords. Somehow he has knowledge going back to the 1400s,” Chanyeol rambles. He adjusts his grip on the cart, so one hand can let go and reach into his jacket to pull out his gun.

Kyungsoo takes the pistol from Chanyeol, not quite realizing how heavy it is. He adjusts his grip on the weapon and gulps. How on Earth is he supposed to fire this?

“Just press down on the safety and squeeze the trigger,” Jongdae explains. “But we warned of the kickback.”

“Oh, man, the kickback on this gun is a bitch,” Chanyeol agrees. 

“What's a kickback?” Kyungsoo asks. They are making this sound like it's a bad thing and that makes him nervous. Jongdae and Chanyeol just laugh which doesn’t make him feel better either.

“You’ll see,” Jongdae replies. “Try to shoot at that palm tree.” Kyungsoo points the gun as steady as he can and closes one eye. He has absolutely no clue what he’s doing, but hopefully it will work. Squeezing the trigger causes a puff of gunpowder to shoot out of the gun and the sheer force of it launches Kyungsoo backward, landing flat on his ass. 

“Ow,” Kyungsoo mumbles. “So that’s what kickback is.” Jongdae and Chanyeol laugh, with Chanyeol offering him a hand up.

“You’ll be okay,” Chanyeol reassures. “Let’s see how you did.” They all look at the palm tree Kyungsoo attempted to hit and are all shocked that Kyungsoo nailed the tree right in the middle.

“That’s either a lucky first shot or you’re now the most important person on my crew,” Chanyeol jokes and Kyungsoo smiles.

“As fun as that was, we’re in the middle of stealing things and should probably get to your ship as quickly as possible,” Jongdae chimes in. Chanyeol nods and they are back to pushing the cart closer to the pier.

“So where are we off to next?” Kyungsoo asks. “I assume the other crew members aren’t here as well.”

“Yeah, I’m the only one who decided to stay near to Chanyeol,” Jongdae says. “Baekhyun is off picking fights with Junmyeon, head of the royal navy on a nearby island and Jongin is a bit farther off doing something or other.”

“Junmyeon?” Kyungsoo can’t help the question. Sehun told him a few days ago that Junmyeon had to go and deal with a problem on a nearby island, but who knew it would be Baekhyun of all people. Small world, Kyungsoo supposes.

“Yeah, Chanyeol’s fought him a few times as well,” Jongdae brags and Chanyeol looks surprisingly embarrassed.

“I’ve ran into him once or twice,” Chanyeol admits.

“Baekhyun is convinced that Chanyeol hooked up with Junmyeon and that’s why the crew got disbanded,” Jongdae elaborates and Kyungsoo’s eyes go wide. That would certainly be awkward later on if they run into Junmyeon. Not to mention the fact that when Kyungsoo ran into Chanyeol he was heartbroken. He’s not going to announce that, but it certainly is all the more evidence that Junmyeon and Chanyeol had been an item up until recently.

“That’s— That’s not true at all,” Chanyeol splutters.

“With a response like that, I completely believe you,” Kyungsoo retorts. “I’ve heard of Junmyeon, I’m just surprised you would have gotten together with him out of all people. Because, y’know, you’re enemies.”

“Exactly! See, Kyungsoo gets it,” Jongdae adds on. “Chanyeol would never admit it though.”

“Because it’s not true,” Chanyeol exclaims. “Lets focus on the task at hand.” Jongdae and Kyungsoo share a look, but don’t push the issue any further. Kyungsoo wishes he could tell Sehun this so Sehun could tease Junmyeon about it endlessly. Sehun and Junmyeon always bicker with each other, but it’s never serious and Junmyeon ends up getting a bit flustered with Sehun’s advances.

Now that Kyungsoo knows that Chanyeol and Junmyeon aren’t together, that explains why Sehun never got together with Junmyeon, even in secret. Sehun confessed a long time ago that he might have feelings for Junmyeon. Sehun had cried because he thought something might be wrong with him, but Kyungsoo had reassured him that he’s normal, just that he had to keep it a secret because people are mean. They might say things that would hurt Sehun without even realizing it.

Ironic in some way, that that’s the exact relationship Sehun and Kyungsoo had. Sehun didn’t mean to hurt Kyungsoo at all— in fact, they are really quite close, but Kyungsoo isn’t sure Sehun, and by extension the rest of their family would understand him at all. It’s not unheard of for affairs to happen because marriage isn’t for love really, but this— whatever it is feels like too much of a stretch.

It’s depressing to think about, but it’s the truth. Fuck, now Kyungsoo feels like crying. His eyes aren’t wet, but he feels that same painful tug that he gets when he does cry. Kyungsoo shoves all those feelings aside to think about later because right now he’s with two pirates and about to start a brand new chapter of his life.

“Here she is!” Chanyeol declares. “My beautiful ship.”

“Do you have a name for it?” Kyungsoo asks because apparently that’s a thing pirates do.

“No,” Chanyeol replies. “Baekhyun told me a rumor that if you name your ship, that she will get robbed. I think he just didn’t want me to having naming powers, but I’m not fucking around y’know. Though, I wouldn’t mind robbing Junmyeon’s ship, but I have no clue if it has a name or not.” Kyungsoo knows what the ship is named, but there’s no way he’s telling Chanyeol. When Junmyeon got his first ship, he named it after Kyungsoo because Kyungsoo is the most special girl in his life. The thought makes his gut swirl. He knows that Junmyeon had only pure intentions with that, but even still.

“I bet Junmyeon picked a dumb name too, if that makes you feel better,” Kyungsoo offers. Well, Kyungsoo thinks the name is dumb, but several other people (Sehun and Junmyeon) wouldn’t think so.

They board the ship and Jongdae takes the cart from Chanyeol and pushes it into the main ship building. Kyungsoo’s things are still on the cart and Jongdae seems to be really attached to it, so Kyungsoo can just wait to get his things back.

“Would you like to walk with me to the helm so we can get onto the water?” Chanyeol asks and Kyungsoo nods.

Chanyeol leads him to the back of the ship and up some stairs into a smaller room that overlooks the rest of the ship.

“Have you ever been on a ship before?” Chanyeol asks.

“No, I haven’t actually,” Kyungsoo admits.

“Do you think you’ll get sea sick? Because I do need to know that before we can really get much further.”

“No, I don’t think I will.” Kyungsoo has no idea what being seasick even means, but it seems like a bad thing, so he hopes that he’s correct in his assumption that he won’t get seasick.

“That’s good then. You can see the sea best from the bowsprit,” Chanyeol says. Kyungsoo nods, also unsure of what a bowsprit is, but considering that Chanyeol is talking about seeing the sea, it’s probably at the front. “Also it won’t be more than an hour or so before we reach Baekhyun’s island.”

Walking back down the stairs is a little bit difficult as Chanyeol is steering the ship, but Kyungsoo holds the side rail, so it’s all okay. He nearly falls once or twice, but nothing major happens.

When Kyungsoo reaches the front of the ship, he perches himself on the bench there and watches the waves. It’s honestly quite relaxing. Chanyeol is off steering or whatever and Jongdae is meal prepping (Kyungsoo also doesn’t know what that means, but food is food). 

Kyungsoo is nearly dozing off, the sounds of the sea lulling him to sleep, but Jongdae comes out of the kitchen area and sits down next to Kyungsoo.

“Fair warning, Baekhyun can be kind of a lot for some people,” Jongdae says. “He’s very caring, don’t get me wrong, he’s just… extra, I suppose.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Kyungsoo replies, eyes scanning the horizon. The island is much closer now and seems to be the one where Chanyeol wants to dock, but Kyungsoo catches sight of a specific ship ashore and fear fills his veins. How does he alert Chanyeol or Jongdae to the fact that the ship there is an undercover royal navy ship?

“Any thoughts?”

“That ship looks weird,” Kyungsoo says, trying to get Jongdae to put the pieces together. If Kyungsoo flat out says that that’s a royal navy ship, then he’s kinda screwed because how would he have known?

“What makes you say that?” Jongdae asks and Kyungsoo wants to hit his head against a wall.

“It looks much nicer than any of the other ships in the harbor. Bigger as well.”

“Yeah…” Jongdae trails off. “That’s a bit suspicious, you’re right. But the only people we have to avoid are the royal navy and that doesn’t look like one of their ships.”

“What if it’s one of their ships in disguise?” Kyungsoo suggests. “That would be really scary.”

“You raise a good point. I’ll have Chanyeol port as far from that ship as possible.” Jongdae gets up from the little bench and walks back to the main cabin. Chanyeol’s ship is big, but not overly so. Kyungsoo has been on the royal navy ships before that were so big Kyungsoo was scared to walk on for fear that it would sink.

Kyungsoo had walked onto the ship, dressed like a princess, with makeup and hair styled perfectly on top of the fancy dress. All the soldiers had either been too afraid to make eye contact or stared at him perversely. It was quite an uncomfortable experience, but having Junmyeon by his side for it made it sufferable.

While Sehun is Kyungsoo’s little brother, Junmyeon feels like Kyungsoo’s big brother. He always kept an eye out for Kyungsoo and that meant a lot to him. 

The ship comes to a stop and Kyungsoo stands up, shaking off all of his thoughts of home. Wind whips around Kyungsoo’s head, hair lifting easily. It’s a strange feeling to be able to even feel wind on the back of his neck, reminding him of just how different his life is becoming. So far, in all good ways.

Kyungsoo walks to the edge of the ship to greet Jongdae and Chanyeol who are setting the gangway down.

“Do we know where Baekhyun is?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Kind of,” Jongdae replies. “Last I heard that he frequents this one bar—” Someone screams and all of their heads turn towards the sound. On the beach, two figures are dueling with each other and they seem to be pretty evenly matched.

“There’s Baekhyun,” Chanyeol mumbles. “Sparring with Junmyeon on the beach. Why am I not surprised?”

“Well then, let's go get him,” Kyungsoo says.

“Wonderful attitude, but you have no weapons, so how are you gonna take Junmyeon with his sword,” Jongdae points out. And he’s right— if Kyungsoo didn’t know Junmyeon personally and knew that he has a weak spot.

“If I disarm Junmyeon, what do I get?” Kyungsoo asks. The least he can do here is to prove his worth. Chanyeol and Jongdae both share a look of disbelief before looking back at Chanyeol.

“I’ll learn your favorite recipe,” Jongdae offers and Chanyeol hums.

“How about an I.O.U that can be used at any time for anything?”

“Ooh,” Kyungsoo replies. “Deal.”

“Deal,” they reply in sync. Kyungsoo salutes them both and is off the ship before either of them can say anything.

Running on sand is immensely difficult, but Kyungsoo manages to get a good rhythm going. He stops fifteen feet away from the battle, making eye contact with Baekhyun who looks confused.

“Junmyeon!” Kyungsoo screams. This is so risky and could blow up in his face so easily, but Junmyeon doesn’t know he’s missing yet and has no clue Kyungsoo would want to escape.

Junmyeon’s concentration is broken for a moment, but he keeps up pace with Baekhyun. Kyungsoo charges Junmyeon and tackles him from the side. They go crashing to the ground, but before Junmyeon can use his sword on Kyungsoo, Kyungsoo is tickling Junmyeon. His back presses off the ground as he laughs, trying to grab his weapon.

One of Kyungsoo’s hands lets up the tickling to grab the sword. He hops off Junmyeon and presses the tip against Junmyeon’s chest. This is what pirates do right? Right?

“Who are you?” Junmyeon asks, finally having caught his breath.

“Doesn’t matter,” Kyungsoo replies, dropping his voice as low as he can, hoping Junmyeon doesn’t put any of the pieces together. “Baekhyun, you’re coming with us.”

Sparing a glance to the right, Kyungsoo sees that Baekhyun’s jaw has dropped. Looking to the left, Kyungsoo sees Jongdae and Chanyeol in the same position.

“You really…” Jongdae trails off. Kyungsoo is feeling cocky, he’s proven himself and outdone Baekhyun, plus he finally got some revenge on Junmyeon for all the play fighting they did as kids.

“Tell Sehun hi for me,” Kyungsoo says, taking the sword off Junmyeon’s chest.

“How do you know Sehun?” Junmyeon asks. His brows furrow together and Kyungsoo knows the longer they stay here, the more likely Junmyeon will realize who Kyungsoo is.

“Isn’t a pirate's job to know their enemy?” Kyungsoo counters. Sehun isn’t his enemy by any means, they’re brothers for fucks sake, but Junmyeon doesn’t need to know any of that.

Somehow this snaps Baekhyun, Chanyeol and Jongdae out of their stupor who rush to Kyungsoo’s sides.

“I think my work here is done,” Kyungsoo proclaims, dropping the sword to the ground (it’s Junmyeon’s favorite, he won’t be a total dick) and starts off back down the beach. Chanyeol catches up to him first and gives him a once over.

“That was unbelievable,” Chanyeol gushes. “How did you know Junmyeon was ticklish?”

“Lucky guess.” Kyungsoo shrugs. There’s absolutely no other way he could have known, none at all. At least to Chanyeol’s knowledge. “Wouldn’t you have known that anyway?” Chanyeol blushes.

“Mayhaps, I was aware of that,” Chanyeol replies. “But there’s no definitive proof if anyone else asks.” Kyungsoo laughs.

“That’s okay, I can keep a secret.”

“I can too.” Kyungsoo wants to ask what Chanyeol means by that, but then Jongdae catches up to them.

“Baekhyun is basically telling Junmyeon that if he even thinks about following us, that he will sick Kyungsoo on them again. Before you even ask— yes, Baekhyun stage whispered to me to ask Kyungsoo’s name,” Jongdae says.

“He is unbelievable sometimes,” Chanyeol replies. “But that’s okay, I’ll take the anchor out and he should be here by then.”

“Good plan.”

Kyungsoo gets back up on the ship and he goes back to his perch at the front of the boat while Jongdae and Chanyeol get them ready to go again. A few minutes later, Baekhyun sits down next to Kyungsoo.

“Thanks for tackling Junmyeon for me,” Baekhyun begins. “Just between you and me, he probably would have beat me eventually. While I’m a good swordsman, he has been trained by the best of the best and it’s hard to fight with that.”

“You’re welcome, and yeah, I get what you mean. If he’s had every advantage in the book, wouldn’t playing dirty just be evening the score?” Kyungsoo points out.

“I like the way you think, Kyungsoo. Glad to meet you.” Baekhyun holds out his hand and Kyungsoo takes it. “Best of luck.”

* * *

“Who’s the other member of your crew that we need again?” Kyungsoo asks Chanyeol. He’s behind the wheel of the ship as usual, but he pulls away from the wheel and flicks something on the front panel. Chanyeol leans against the panel and Kyungsoo stands across from him.

“Jongin Kim, sharpshooter,” Chanyeol replies. “He’s basically really good at firing guns. I’m proficient with guns, swords and can use anything as a weapon if really needed, but I’m not the best with them ever. Like if I were to fight Baekhyun, I would lose really badly.”

“Makes sense. So where is Jongin on this island we’re going to?” Chanyeol sighs and gives a sheepish grin.

“Jongin works in protection so to speak,” Chanyeol says vaguely and Kyungsoo narrows his eyes. “He is an escort’s literal escort.”

“Oh,” Kyungsoo replies. So, Jongin protects prostitutes. “Why not just say that outright?”

“Because the way we have to find Jongin will be a bit unusual.” Chanyeol sticks his hands in his pockets and Kyungsoo frowns. What is Chanyeol even saying? Kyungsoo doesn’t understand coded language at all.

As it turns out, what Chanyeol meant was pretending to hire a prostitute. Amazing. Baekhyun and Kyungsoo got grouped together in some bushes outside the brothel to keep watch or whatever.

“This is absurd,” Kyungsoo mutters.

“You’re telling me,” Baekhyun retorts, snorting. “I’ve had to do all kinds of strange things on missions with Chanyeol. He’s always right, but his ways are a bit strange, I’ll admit.”

“Such as?” Kyungsoo prods.

“I once pretended to be a corrupt royal official, another time I had to be the prostitute. It was strange, but it totally worked.” Baekhyun says.

“I see,” Kyungsoo replies. “How long do you think Chanyeol is going to take?”

“With him who knows. He’s either schmoozing the owner, Jongin, or about to run out of here yelling vague threats.” Kyungsoo sighs, what has he gotten himself into? Almost as if on cue, Chanyeol bursts out of the brothel with Jongin in a headlock and pointing his gun at people.

“Any moves and I shoot someone,” Chanyeol declares, using his best pirate voice. Quite intimidating if Kyungsoo hadn’t known Chanyeol is really a puppy.

“I see he went with option three,” Baekhyun mutters. “Time for us to step in. Take my second sword and start waving it around, but don’t actually kill anyone.” Baekhyun hands over a sword and Kyungsoo stares at it. He’s used a knife before, and this is just an extra large knife, so it’s all okay. Kyungsoo looks up and Baekhyun is gone, dashing out to give Chanyeol extra support.

Kyungsoo gives the sword one more quick look and then he’s chasing after Baekhyun, waving his sword around like something that’s not deadly. Chanyeol is backing away with Jongin and now there’s a crowd of people in front of the brothel. It’s the middle of the afternoon, why are people horny?

“Get back or I’ll take your eye out!” Kyungsoo threatens, raising his voice over anyone else’s. Chanyeol looks over, impressed. No one back away, so Kyungsoo takes a step forward and points his sword out in a way he hopes is threatening.

It works, as everyone backs away. Chanyeol uses the cover to get Jongin walking down the street with him. Baekhyun mimics Kyungsoo’s body language and they manage to get the people inside the brothel, so no more prying eyes.

Once there’s no one left in sight, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo chase after Chanyeol running down the hill with Jongin beside him. Baekhyun is faster than Kyungsoo, which is okay until Kyungsoo spots something nailed to a tree.

He slows down and takes a quick look at it. Chanyeol's face is plastered on a wanted poster for kidnapping Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo’s stomach twists and he rips the poster off the tree, crumbles it and tosses it to the ground.

They get back to the ship all in one piece and Jongin offers to get them off the island and Kyungsoo is surprised that Chanyeol relinquishes control of his ship. Baekhyun says he needs to clean up a little bit, but will help Jongin first. Jongdae has been working to prepare dinner and drinks for everyone while they were gone, so Kyungsoo and Chanyeol get sent out to carry liquor outside for everyone. The sun is setting and Kyungsoo feels the weight of the day starting to sink in.

“I’m so glad Jongdae is my chef,” Chanyeol says with two bottles of liquor in hand. Kyungsoo has two others and they are just setting them all on a table outside for everyone to have a go at. They both set the bottles down then idle for a moment.

“Why is that?” Kyungsoo asks.

“I need a chef otherwise I’ll die from scurvy because I literally cannott cook,” Chanyeol retorts and Kyungsoo isn’t one hundred percent sure that Chanyeol isn’t exaggerating. “One time, I ate a whole lemon because I couldn’t figure out how to put it in my water to be fancy. That’s why Jongdae is slicing the citrus now. After I told him that story, he insisted on making sure I never do that again.”

“I— what?” Is all Kyungsoo can reply with because there is no way Chanyeol isn’t pranking him right now.

“But the thing Jongdae doesn’t know is—” Chanyeol makes a pause for dramatic effect and Kyungsoo just waits for the other shoe to drop because this can’t be good. “Is that I’m addicted to eating raw lemons.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t know if he should laugh or be concerned for Chanyeol’s taste buds. At that moment, Chanyeol produces a lemon from his pocket and takes a huge bite of it without wincing at all.

“Are you okay?” Kyungsoo asks and Chanyeol laughs, taking another bite. Then Kyungsoo notices that Chanyeol ate the skin of the lemon as well. What has Kyungsoo gotten himself into?

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Chanyeol waves Kyungsoo off. “But would you like a bit?”

“No thank you…” Chanyeol shrugs and eats the rest of his lemon in one bite before walking back into the kitchen together to grab more bottles, but before they can leave Jongdae gets their attention.

“Why did you two take so long?” Jongdae asks, voice full of suspicion. “The only realistic thing I think could have happened is Chanyeol stole one of my lemons again.”

“Again?” Kyungsoo splutters. “How often does Chanyeol take lemons?” Chanyeol looks embarrassed and rubs the back of his neck with his hand.

“I know everything that happens on this ship,” Jongdae replies. “Now, Chanyeol isn’t denying this— which is to be expected. He’s completely addicted to raw citrus at this point.”

Chanyeol is at complete lack for words, the tips of his ears burning and if under any other circumstances, Kyungsoo would have laughed.

“Did you steal one of my lemons while I wasn’t looking?” Jongdae asks.

“Yes.” Jongdae glares at Chanyeol.

“Get back to carrying the liquor outside,” Jongdae directs. “And I will save you from Baekhyun’s teasing later.” Kyungsoo and Chanyeol both go back to grabbing bottles without another word.

Pretty soon, there’s more than enough alcohol for everyone outside. The sun is dipping below the horizon and everyone has gathered around together. Kyungsoo is next to Chanyeol and across from Baekhyun who has Jongdae and Jongin on either side of him.

Jongin plays catch up for everyone, recanting his mini adventures and everyone listens on eagerly. Baekhyun does the same and when it comes around to Kyungsoo he’s at a loss for words.

“I didn’t really have any crazy adventures before meeting Chanyeol,” Kyungsoo says, taking a tiny sip of his alcohol. It burns and Kyungsoo doesn’t even really like the taste, but everyone else is gulping it down, and Kyungsoo wants to try to fit in a little. Besides, he’s not even having that much, so it’s okay.

“Nothing?” Baekhyun clarifies. “Why don’t I believe that with the way you act?”

“I’m just a good actor,” Kyungsoo replies. It’s actually because he’s been repressing a huge part of himself for years and pretending he’s someone he’s not, but that’s too deep for drinks between crew mates. Thankfully Jongin steers the conversation away from Kyungsoo.

“You know what I’ve seen going around?” Jongin asks and Kyungsoo has to reassure himself that it’s not about him. The world doesn’t revolve around him and that’s okay— for the best even. 

“What?” Chanyeol asks, taking a sip of whiskey like it’s nothing. Kyungsoo’s mouth burns in memory of his attempt at drinking whiskey.

“That you’ve kidnapped Princess Jeongyeon,” Jongin replies. Motherfucker. The world doesn’t revolve around Kyungsoo, but the world has a sick sense of humor.

“I know who that is, but I’ve never seen her before,” Chanyeol replies. “Unless Baekhyun has some serious explaining to do.” Baekhyun yips and sits up straight.

“I would never,” Baekhyun reassures. “I may be the prettiest person on Earth, but if I was a princess I would be living that cush life right now, not on your ship chasing a pearl.” Everyone laughs, including Kyungsoo, who has to force it a bit. 

“So, Kyungsoo,” Jongdae says. “How did you meet Chanyeol and convince him to get his crew back together?”

“Oh, I just found him on the beach and I offered him some advice,” Kyungsoo replies. He probably isn’t supposed to mention the fact that Chanyeol was heartbroken and probably still is.

“That’s it?” Baekhyun exclaims, nearly knocking some of the empty bottles over. “I tried to convince him for weeks that we should stick together and that it’s okay to take a little break, but he was convinced that it was the end of the line for his pirating at all.” Everyone turns to Chanyeol who looks immensely awkward.

“Well, you see, life happened.” Everyone but Kyungsoo boos Chanyeol’s answer and he glares directly at Baekhyun. “Okay, so maybe Junmyeon broke my heart and Kyungsoo convinced me that I need to move on with my life.”

Kyungsoo gasps and then all the attention is on him. He knew this was a real possibility, but he didn’t really think Chanyeol and Junmyeon were a thing. Now his mind is filled with plenty of unpleasant images of Junmyeon and Chanyeol together in all sorts of compromising positions.

“We all knew this was true, I just wanted to hear Chanyeol say it,” Baekhyun says. “Thank you, Chanyeol for finally proving that you trust us.”

“I will drink to that,” Jongin chimes in and everyone knocks back another gulp of something. Kyungsoo takes a tiny sip out of the blue bottle he’s holding in between his knees. It burns like hell, but Kyungsoo does his best to mask it.

The conversation dissolves into things Kyungsoo doesn’t care about, so after trying to drink as much liquor as he dares, he’s feeling quite sleepy. Chanyeol is sitting next to Kyungsoo and even though it seems like a bad idea, Kyungsoo rests his head on Chanyeol’s shoulder. Chanyeol flinches a little at first, but doesn’t say anything.

It’s far too late at night by the time everyone retreats to their rooms. Kyungsoo had been mostly asleep on Chanyeol’s shoulder for who knows how long and Chanyeol has to give him a bit of a nudge awake.

With a big yawn, Kyungsoo stands up and stretches his arms above his head. He feels his medical tape loosen a bit which wakes him up more than anything, but he can’t really fix it right now and besides, no one is really going to notice anything right now with how drunk they all are.

“I’ll escort you to your room?” Chanyeol asks, lightly stumbling over his own feet as he stands up. Kyungsoo rolls his eyes and takes Chanyeol’s arm. They lean up against the other and shuffle back to Kyungsoo’s room. He’s really a little tipsy if anything, but Chanyeol is far gone. They reach Kyungsoo’s room, but neither of them break apart, instead, they lean back against the wall across from Kyungsoo’s room.

“Are we going to move?” Kyungsoo whispers, a smile playing on his lips.

“I don’t think so,” Chanyeol replies. “You’re warm and I know my bed is cold, so I want as much time with you as possible before I sleep alone.” Kyungsoo feels his face flush and giggles.

“Who says you have to sleep alone?” Kyungsoo asks and Chanyeol’s eyes get wide.

“Are you saying…”

“I don’t see why not,” Kyungsoo replies, pushing a lock of hair out of Chanyeol’s eyes. “But who’s room?” Chanyeol shrugs, eyes trained on Kyungsoo’s mouth. 

Somehow they gravitate a bit closer until Chanyeol’s lips are brushing Kyungsoo’s. It’s nothing more than a light peck, but it still gives Kyungsoo butterflies. Chanyeol deepens the kiss by slipping his tongue into Kyungsoo’s mouth and wow that is an unexpectedly good sensation. Tasting the whiskey on Chanyeol’s tongue, Kyungsoo can actually see why people like it so much. At least this way, it doesn’t burn the back of Kyungsoo’s throat.

Kyungsoo’s hand comes to grip at Chanyeol’s shoulder and he breaks them apart to stare up at Chanyeol and catch his breath. Chanyeol looks almost dazed, blissed out already and Kyungsoo feels a tinge of pride that he made Chanyeol feel like that when he doesn’t have any experience in the kissing department.

“I think my room will be plenty good for the both of us,” Chanyeol says and Kyungsoo smiles softly.

“Yeah, I think that would be nice,” Kyungsoo replies. They break apart, but stay connected by the hands as they walk down the hall a little ways down the hall to Chanyeol’s bedroom. Chanyeol opens the bedroom door and Kyungsoo walks in first. The room is much more lavish than Kyungsoo’s which is to be expected, but his bed is huge and the sheets look ever so soft. Chanyeol’s hand lets go of Kyungsoo’s and wraps around his waist before sliding down to his hip and giving a soft squeeze.

“Take your coat off,” Chanyeol whispers in Kyungsoo’s ear and he giggles. Kyungsoo sees no issue with the request and does as asked. “Your body shape is so beautiful. It’s unlike any other man I have laid eyes on, but that’s what I like so much about you already. You’re a handsome man through and through but you’re so unique.” Those words cut through Kyungsoo’s heart like ice. Oh, Chanyeol, maybe he can understand Kyungsoo.

“You do the same,” Kyungsoo counters, undoing his boots and climbing on top of Chanyeol’s bed. Chanyeol shrugs off his coat, hat and boots and is unbuttoning his shirt before climbing into bed with Kyungsoo. They adjust themselves so Chanyeol is in Kyungsoo’s lap, practically vibrating with excitement.

“You’re so gorgeous, Soo,” Chanyeol mumbles, hands splayed on Kyungsoo’s chest and Kyungsoo panics for a moment. There’s no way Chanyeol hasn’t realized that he’s not touching a flat chest. Chanyeol leans in close, lips almost touching Kyungsoo’s ear. “I know you’re not exactly like me, but that doesn’t bother me at all. You’re still a handsome boy that I have the pleasure of having in my bed.” Chanyeol sucks Kyungsoo’s ear lobe into his mouth and Kyungsoo’s back arches off the bed with a gasp. So, Chanyeol doesn’t seem to care? Kyungsoo is honestly shocked.

“You really don’t mind?” Kyungsoo asks, disbelief shining through unintentionally.

“All I like are people,” Chanyeol slurs, reminding Kyungsoo of Chanyeol’s drunk state. Kyungsoo’s still a little lightheaded, but he can’t tell if that’s from love or the alcohol. “And you’re one of the ones I really like.” Chanyeol presses another kiss to Kyungsoo’s lips, this one much softer than the previous one.

“I like you too,” Kyungsoo admits. Whirlwind romance indeed. Maybe Kyungsoo is naive or maybe this could really be something great. Chanyeol shifts so he’s curled up to Kyungsoo’s side and his head rests in the crook of Kyungsoo’s neck. He lightly rubs his nose against Kyungsoo’s neck, warm breath fanning out over Kyungsoo’s skin.

“I’m so sleepy,” Chanyeol mumbles before falling asleep leaving Kyungsoo to his thoughts. So where does this leave Kyungsoo?

* * *

The lapping of the waves against the bottom of the boat became a rhythm that tore away any concept of time. Kyungsoo assumes that one day Chanyeol will bring up the kiss, but nothing is ever said about it. No one here seems to dislike the idea of two men being together, as evidenced by Junmyeon and Chanyeol’s relationship, but Chanyeol hasn’t changed his behavior towards Kyungsoo at all. Not just the lack of comments, but his actions are still that same friendly that Kyungsoo has received from the beginning. But none of that matters now as Chanyeol hasn’t spilled Kyungsoo’s secret to anyone on the ship.

“That’s it!” Chanyeol exclaims and Kyungsoo rushes out of his room to the edge of the ship. He still hasn’t picked up on all the ship lingo, but he doesn’t steer, so it’s not really an issue yet. There’s a blue-green bubble that sticks up above the water, almost like a cove. But it isn’t see-through. The dome looks solid, but shines like sand in the sunlight. Baekhyun turns the ship to enter the mouth of the bubble and Kyungsoo swallows. This is turning out to be scarier than he thought it would be.

The first room is like a waiting spot to the rest of the dome, but the ship can’t go in any farther. Everyone is yelling and there’s a board being set to walk down and Kyungsoo is so overwhelmed he’s dizzy. Jongin guides him down the gangway and Kyungsoo walks along the edge of the room. The material is like that of the walls and about three feet wide in a circle around the whole space. 

Once everyone is off, Kyungsoo has almost reached the next room when he hears a voice from behind. It’s pretty, and unlike any of the crew members. A mermaid stares up at Kyungsoo.

“Angel, why don’t you come down here? I have what you want,” she says and Kyungsoo stares at her. She’s attractive, but Kyungsoo feels no pull towards her. And why would a random mermaid have the pearl anyway. Kyungsoo ignores her and moves into the next room.

This room is mostly the same as the previous one, but this one has lily pads in the water made of the same material as everything else in here. Another mermaid pops up in between two of the lily pads and gets Kyungsoo’s attention.

“Where are you going?” she asks. “All the fun is down here.” Something isn’t right about these mermaids. Chanyeol is walking along the other edge of the room, refusing to look at the mermaids. Why can’t he look at them? Things start to click for Kyungsoo right as Baekhyun walks into the room.

These aren’t mermaids. They’re sirens. Baekhyun looks like the first to go down. He covers his eyes and backs into the wall behind him, unable to hold back his scream. Kyungsoo doesn’t know much about sirens, but he feels like he should be getting some effect from looking at them.

But the gem is only a few lily pads away if Kyungsoo goes through the center and not along the edge, he can make it in there quickly and not have to explain why the sirens don’t affect him. He doesn’t even have an answer, but if it turns out siren powers only work on civilians or something else that would out Kyungsoo, that would be immensely bad.

Kyungsoo jumps onto the nearest pad and nails scratch at his ankles. He pushes onward and jumps to the next one. And then the next one. One more and he’s there. Kyungsoo hears Chanyeol shout something unintelligible.

The blue light practically burns Kyungsoo’s eyes and he covers his face with his arm, still pressing onward. As he steps through the light, Baekhyun lets out a blood curdling scream.

Kyungsoo can see again and he takes in the small room he’s in. It’s built out of the same sandy blue-green material as the rest of the cove, but in the middle of the room is a small pond with a stand in the middle. That must be where the pearl is.

Before Kyungsoo can even stretch out his hand to grab the pearl, someone to his right clears their throat. On that side of the room is another of the sirens, resting on the edge of a deeper pool, tail swishing in the water.

“What do you think you’re doing?” They ask.

“Taking the pearl…” Kyungsoo trails off. Something isn’t quite right here, but he can’t figure out what.

“The pearl is gone, Kyungsoo.”

“What do you mean? And how do you know my name?” Kyungsoo backs away from the siren, back pressed against the wall.

“You should know, the pearl was already stolen for you,” The siren replies and Kyungsoo’s heart sinks.

“Who are you?” Kyungsoo asks. How can one siren seem to know everything already?

“I’m Yixing, protector of the pearl, and if I was you, I would get back to your friend. I believe one of my friends has taken a bite of him.” Kyungsoo panics and dashes back through the light and jumps from lily pad to lily pad, narrowly avoiding siren’s that claw at him.

On the other side of the room, Kyungsoo looks for his crew members. Everyone is huddled around Baekhyun except for Jongin who is blindly waving a sword around. They know they can’t look at them, but they need to get out.

“Chanyeol!” Kyungsoo shouts. “The pearl is already gone. Someone got here before us.” The yelling brings more of the siren’s attention to Kyungsoo.

“Come down here and swim with us,” One of them says, but Kyungsoo sees through the lie and shakes his head. She switches from happy and alluring to vicious in a minute. Kyungsoo jumps back to avoid her lunging at him. 

“Get out of here, you guys,” Kyungsoo yells. “I can fight off sirens.”

“Kyungsoo, no,” Jongin yells back. “You can’t look at them or else they will suck you down. That’s what almost happened to Baekhyun and now he doesn’t have a fucking hand.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Kyungsoo reassures. He races over to Jongin, snatches the sword out of his hands and starts to lead the group out of the cove. Anytime a siren gets close to someone, Kyungsoo tries to hit them with the sword.

Tries is the accurate term as Kyungsoo hits the sirens rather than stabs them which might be for the better as Kyungsoo can’t stand the sight of blood. Side effect of being a royal and being babied for most his life.

The five of them make it back onto the ship and Baekhyun is taken into one of the rooms with the medical supplies. Jongdae and Jongin dash away to grab things while Chanyeol has his coat off, pressed into Baekhyun’s wound while Baekhyun cries and screams.

“Kyungsoo do you know anything about medicine?” Chanyeol asks. “Jongdae and Jongin do, but if you’re not helpful, I need you to leave.” Kyungsoo’s eyes are locked on Baekhyun’s wrist where it's now a bleeding stump and he thinks he’s about to be sick.

“I can’t,” Kyungsoo stutters out. “I don’t do well with blood.” Kyungsoo practically runs out of the room and onto the ship deck. He leans over the side and empties his stomach. It’s embarrassing, but the sounds of pure pain from Baekhyun really turned a little bit of blood nausea into something else entirely.

Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, Kyungsoo walks back into his bedroom. If what Yixing said is really true, then he has had the pearl all along. Kyungsoo opens the top drawer of his dresser and takes the bag of jewels out and pours them out on the top. The tiara lands in the middle of them all and Kyungsoo’s throat feels dry.

Kyungsoo isn’t sure what comes over him but the tiara is in his hands, looking it over, appreciating the intricacies of all the smaller gems before his eyes circle back to the pearl in the center. He sighs before placing it on his head. Looking into the mirror, he doesn’t see himself. He sees the princess he used to be. She looks at Kyungsoo curiously, seemingly unaware of the fact that she’s making him freak out. For a moment, Kyungsoo is trapped, staring at what should have been.

The tiara can’t be thrown off his head fast enough. Metal hits the floorboards and the pearl slips out of its spot, rolling over to the nightstand. The frame of the tiara is under the bed probably, but Kyungsoo can’t even look for it right now. He runs straight out of his room and to the edge of the ships.

He watches the waves for a few minutes and is starting to feel better, but then there’s a rough hand pulling him up by his shirt collar.

“Why do you have the pearl?” Chanyeol hisses. Oh god, this is so bad. “Are you some kind of spy for the royals?” Kyungsoo shakes his head violently, but Chanyeol doesn’t believe him. “And you had the audacity to tell us that there was no pearl. You disgust me.” Chanyeol spits at Kyungsoo and lets him crumple to the ground. The spit rolls down Kyungsoo’s cheek like a tear and it takes everything he has to not start crying right then and there.

Kyungsoo doesn’t bother to get up at all. He wants to yell at Chanyeol for looking through his stuff. Wants to come clean. Wants to change the outcome of all this. But his voice locks up in his throat.

“Are you going to even try to explain yourself?” Chanyeol shouts. By now, the rest of the crew has come out of their quarters and are looking on, confused.

There isn’t even a believable explanation for this. Maybe Kyungsoo could convince Chanyeol, but that would mean saying the name he was born to and Kyungsoo can’t do that on a good day. Let alone in a state of panic and shut down.

“Fine,” Chanyeol seethes. “Jongin, where’s the rope?” Jongin’s gaze snaps to Chanyeol and points timidly to a large spool nearby. Chanyeol grabs it and sets it down by the main mast of the ship. This is not a good sign. “Kyungsoo get over here.” 

Kyungsoo can’t move, can’t cry, can’t do anything. His body is shutting down and there’s nothing that he can do to stop it. Chanyeol storms over to Kyungsoo and yanks him up by his arm and drags him over to the main mast himself.

The rope presses into Kyungsoo’s skin, but Kyungsoo doesn’t complain. His mouth is shut and he’s not saying another word. Once fully tied up, Chanyeol marches back into the cabin area.

No one bothers to approach Kyungsoo, but no one seems to be that interested in approaching Kyungsoo either. Though Kyungsoo doesn’t blame them— he’s the newbie on ship and they don’t have the same attachment to him as they have to Chanyeol. And they probably assume Chanyeol is tying up Kyungsoo for good reason.

It’s already sunset, so no one bothers to come out at all for the rest of the night. Kyungsoo’s stomach growls at some point, but he ignores it. This is a bunch of bullshit.

It’s such a shitty situation because Kyungsoo wanted to become a pirate to get away from his royal life completely. But now, he’s stuck with whatever Chanyeol wants to do with him tomorrow or confessing which might not even help him. Life sucks.

Eventually Kyungsoo drifts to a restless sleep. He wakes several times throughout the night, but once the sun starts to rise, he can’t force himself back asleep.

Soon after that, Jongin comes out of his room to Kyungsoo. He doesn’t say anything and just unties Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo is about to thank him, but Jongin puts Kyungsoo’s hands behind his back and ties them together.

“I’m sorry,” Jongin whispers and Kyungsoo doesn’t reply. He’s done with everything at this point— including Jongin’s sympathy. 

Jongin disappears for a few minutes, but returns with the whole crew and Kyungsoo stands up on his own, trying to show some sort of brave face. He will not cry. He will not let Chanyeol treat him like trash.

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol begins. “You have betrayed and lied to this crew. As punishment for your actions, you will have to walk the plank.”

This is unbelievable. One of the other very few things Kyungsoo knew about pirates is that they make traitors walk the plank, but Kyungsoo thought that was a complete lie. Because that’s absolutely ridiculous, which is exactly how Kyungsoo is feeling right now.

Everyone looks disappointed, but none look as upset as Chanyeol, which is fair in a way. None of the other crew members, to Kyungsoo’s knowledge, had ever been put in a situation like this before. Kyungsoo once again weighs the options of trying to tell the truth vs giving up. He really doesn’t want to even try, but he has to if the other option is death.

“Will you at least let me explain my side of things?” Kyungsoo asks, trying to keep his voice stable. Last night, he didn’t think he could say anything, and he doesn’t think he really can now either, but he can sure as hell try.

“What explanation do you have to offer?” Chanyeol counters.

“I’m Princess Jeongyeon,” Kyungsoo begins, just saying that name makes his tongue feel like lead. “The pearl was part of a birthday gift— a tiara— that was given to me by Prince Sehun, my younger brother. But since I am very much not a girl and I hate the royal life as a princess, I had no clue what a pearl looked like. I don’t know the difference between underskirts and petticoats, how should I know what a pearl looks like? That’s how I knew Junmyeon was ticklish— we grew up together. So, yes, the rumor that Chanyeol kidnapped the princess is half true,” Kyungsoo explains, the weight of his words don’t really match his tone, which is almost joyful, but Kyungsoo doesn’t think he can say them any other way.

The crew look amongst themselves for a moment, but Kyungsoo can tell he hasn’t won any of them over.

“Wouldn’t this be the exact story a spy was fed?” Baekhyun points out. “It would literally be your job to blend in with us as best you can. And the Junmyeon stunt only shows that he was in on it.” Everyone seems to agree with Baekhyun’s point and Kyungsoo wants to hit his head against a wall. He really shared his deepest, darkest secret with everyone and they don’t even believe him.

“Nice try,” Chanyeol says. “You’re still walking the plank.” Overwhelming anger fills Kyungsoo. He’s hurt and doesn’t know what’s even left to try for, but he can at least get one last low blow in before he dies.

“Junmyeon told me you two were together and that he was only with you for the sake of the kingdom. I told him to follow his heart instead— which is why he broke yours, you flapdoodle,” Kyungsoo exclaims. That’s all made up, but the look of hurt across Chanyeol’s face is so worth it and Kyungsoo isn’t about to be made to walk some plank with shame— fuck it. He’s jumping off the ship.

Kyungsoo scans around and spots a round table made from half a barrel pressed against the edge of the ship. That’s as good as anything, right? He can't full-on run because his arms are bound behind him but he gets on top of the table without anyone stopping him.

One last look over at everyone, who haven’t even moved, and then Kyungsoo is hurling himself as far as possible away from the ship.

Hitting the water feels like hitting solid ground. The breath is completely knocked out of Kyungsoo. He expected to start to drown, but that doesn’t happen. There’s a strange feeling in Kyungsoo’s gut, then he’s breathing in air again.

Kyungsoo is very much underwater, but he’s swimming and not sinking. His legs are drawn together without Kyungsoo doing anything and his clothes, along with the rope seem to fade away.

Looking down, Kyungsoo sees that his arms are free and more importantly his legs have morphed into a tail.

Kyungsoo is a mermaid.

So many thoughts shoot through his mind all at once. Most of them he can’t even begin to answer, but if Kyungsoo is a mermaid, that means there might actually be someone left on this planet for him to spend time with: Yixing.

Sure, he was kind of a dick when Kyungsoo was there before, but what else is he going to do? Twenty seconds ago, he thought he was going to drown. At the very least, Yixing can tell Kyungsoo why he’s a mermaid. Hopefully.

The first thing to do then is to find an island and figure out where on Earth he is. Chanyeol’s ship is going away from Yixing’s island— where they are going, Kyungsoo doesn’t exactly know. So, time to swim the opposite direction until he hits land, Kyungsoo supposes.

* * *

Kyungsoo doesn’t actually need to swim for that long before reaching a small island. His tail is tired from swimming and Kyungsoo is unsure if he will turn back into a person when he gets out of the water, but sure enough, Kyungsoo’s legs separate and he finds himself able to walk up the beach.

A breeze comes by and Kyungsoo remembers that he’s naked. Well, that is embarrassing. But there’s no one around, so it’s okay for the moment— 

“Excuse me?” a voice comes from behind Kyungsoo and he debates turning around at all or just swimming away. But he has a mission to accomplish and shame will not get in the way of that.

“Yes?” Kyungsoo replies, staring directly at the stranger in hopes that they won’t look down any further. The stranger is dressed in overalls of a fisherman and a big floppy hat.

“Do you need some assistance?”

“Yes, I do actually. I need to get somewhere but I’m not sure how to get there,” Kyungsoo says.

“I assume you also need some clothes,” the stranger suggests and Kyungsoo nods. “Well, my ship is just over yonder and I have some extra clothes you can wear.” Kyungsoo nods and follows the stranger to his ship.

The scale of it is so much smaller than Chanyeol’s, but it’s only for a single fisherman, so it works for his needs.

“I’m Kyungsoo, by the way.”

“Minseok. Fisherman by trade, but also enjoy map making quite a bit.” Map making is the perfect skill for this excursion. A map maker should have lots of knowledge about the surrounding area. “Where is it you’re trying to go?”

“Do you know about the legend of the purple pearl?” Kyungsoo asks and Minseok nods. “Well, it’s kept in a cove near here and I need to get there. I know the general direction to go, but I don’t know precisely.”

“How did you even get on this island if you don’t have a ship?” Minseok asks, handing Kyungsoo a shirt and some pants to wear.

“Would you believe me if I told you I swam?” Kyungsoo counters.

“Not really, but you’re already quite a puzzle,” Minseok replies. “But to answer your earlier question, I do know about the pearl and the cove. It’s a blue-green and kinda sparkles right?”

“That’s the one.”

“I could always use a break from trading. Besides, everyone is about to hike up prices for the day,” Minseok points out and Kyungsoo’s brows furrow as he buttons the pants and tucks his shirt.

“What’s happening today?” Kyungsoo asks.

“Junmyeon Kim of the royal navy is allegedly coming here to chase after Chanyeol Park, the pirate, or something. Personally I think both of those rumors are a bit of hogwash. Chanyeol is rumored to be pirating again, but I don’t really believe that he is. I especially don’t believe that he would kidnap a princess,” Minseok rambles. “But enough conspiracy talk, do you like to fish?”

And that’s how they pass the time for the few hours they spend at sea. Mindless talking about anything and everything, but never really dipping too far into either of their personal lives. Minseok doesn’t comment on Kyungsoo’s body and Kyungsoo doesn’t ask any pushy questions.

Eventually they can see the cove and Kyungsoo nearly vibrates from excitement. Minseok brings the boat a bit closer and idles it for a moment.

“How are you even supposed to get in there?” Minseok asks, but Kyungsoo is already standing up.

“This is going to be so strange for you,” Kyungsoo says, starting to unbutton his shirt as the wind whips around him, completely ignoring Minseok’s question.

“What are you doing, Kyungsoo?” Minseok asks. The wheel is abandoned and the weather is only getting worse.

“Just trust me. Get away from here if you can, but thank you for bringing me here as well.” Kyungsoo slips the shirt off his shoulders and feels the goosebumps that appear on his skin almost instantly. Kyungsoo loosens the pants and removes them as well, feeling shameful because he’s naked and exposed and he’s so uncomfortable— but Minseok has been extremely kind in taking him out here to begin with. There’s no point in tearing his clothes as well.

“I’m still really confused,” Minseok mumbles, averting his eyes. Kyungsoo ignores him and makes sure the only thing on his person is his necklace.

“That’s okay,” Kyungsoo replies. “Just know that I’m safe.” Then Kyungsoo is diving into the water with a huge splash. The water is icy cold and practically burns Kyungsoo’s skin, but he feels his legs start to shift and conjoin. At least everything is working like it should.

Kyungsoo lets out his breath, gills formed now. The water doesn’t taste amazing, but it’s better than salty water, Kyungsoo supposes. He spares one last glance at Minseok’s boat, still resting where he left it. Technically Kyungsoo can breathe air, just not for extended periods. He breaks the surface and screams to get Minseok’s attention who looks at him in surprise.

“Kyungsoo you’ll drown!” Minseok screams. Kyungsoo is really sorry about putting Minseok through all this stress, so he lifts up his tail from the water. All the blood seems to drain from Minseok’s face when he puts two and two together.

“I’m okay really,” Kyungsoo yells back, waving at Minseok who only manages a meek one in comparison. Diving back under the water, Kyungsoo swims the rest of the way into Yixing’s lair.

The blue-green sea bubble is exactly how Kyungsoo remembers it. But this time he can see how the base extends much farther into the ocean, full of other sea life that Chanyeol’s ship had completely missed. He surfaces, resting an elbow on one of the lily pad stalagmites.

“Yixing,” Kyungsoo calls. “I know you’re in here somewhere.” Unlike before, no sirens surface to yell at him. Maybe it’s because he has a tail now, but he’s grateful as they are all hard to look at, even if their powers have no effect on him.

Maybe Yixing is back in the gem room. Kyungsoo weaves in between lily pads. Fuck, this was much easier when he could walk along the edge. But Kyungsoo reaches the other side of the room, blue lights shining brighter the closer he gets to the gem room. One problem though, Kyungsoo has his hands resting on the edge of the pool, solidified blue sand pressing into his palms, and he can’t easily get out of here and into the gem room because of the tail. That’s probably by design, but Kyungsoo is determined to get in there. He uses his little upper body strength to hoist himself onto the sand.

The feeling of his legs separating will never not be weird, but now Kyungsoo is a land creature once again. He grips the edge of the wall as he stands up, legs still shaky. Stumbling through the blue lights into the gem room naked is such a disorienting experience Kyungsoo practically forges why he’s here in the first place.

“Kyungsoo?” Yixing’s voice comes from behind him, so Kyungsoo spins around, nearly tripping over his own two feet.

“Yes, I’m here.”

“I can see that. So how did things go with your lover boy?” Yixing asks. He’s far less mean than last time at least. “Not good, I assume, if you’re here.”

“Yeah, things didn’t really go quite right, which is completely Sehun’s fault. Like he doesn’t know that, but it’s still his fault,” Kyungsoo replies, finally taking in Yixing’s form. He’s standing on dry ground, also naked which Kyungsoo isn’t sure makes him feel less confident or more confident in his own body. Yixing is leaning against the opposite wall to Kyungsoo, the pond of the gem in the middle, stand left empty.

“Who is Sehun?” Yixing asks. He doesn’t seem to give a fuck that Kyungsoo has boobs or anything else, so Kyungsoo straightens up and raises his chin.

“Sehun is my younger brother,” Kyungsoo declares. “But that’s not really the point. Very long story short, Chanyeol made me walk the plank, I swam to shore, met a fisherman named Minseok who took me back here. And now I am here.”

“And why is that?” Yixing’s eyes narrow and he stares at Kyungsoo in a way that makes him feel exposed (more than he is already), but he keeps his strong face on.

“Because I don’t know anyone anymore. I have no crew, I can’t return home, I wasn’t about to become a fisherman, so I am here to accept my fish-y self. Speaking of, I had no clue you could shift either,” Kyungsoo says and Yixing chuckles, breaking eye contact.

“I can only shift in this place. Once I’m in the open sea, there’s no hope to shift even if I really wanted to,” Yixing replies. “I mean if you’re here and know for sure where the pearl is, I want to recover it.”

“Why? I get what the pearl does for me, but I don’t get what it does for you,” Kyungsoo says. “Before this, I didn’t even fucking now magic existed, and now I’ve been cursed by it.”

“Cursed is the wrong word first off,” Yixing retorts. “And once a royal, specifically a princess, uses the pearl to transform, it guides me to my soulmate. When it was kept here, I would use it to shift and walk around as well.” Kyungsoo sticks out his tongue at the word ‘princess’ and Yixing laughs. “I’m aware that’s not how you feel about yourself, but according to magic you are a princess. I’m not saying I agree with it, but that is the way things are.” Kyungsoo sighs. This is how everything is. Things have always been this way, so there’s no hope to change them. “Don’t look so sad though, Kyungsoo. I understand you’re not a princess or even really a prince— in my eyes, you are you.”

“This is so nice, where was this Yixing last time?” Kyungsoo whines. “You could’ve spared me a lot of stress if you told me about the whole mermaid thing.”

“In my defense, you were with that pirate and I thought you were going to steal my pearl. Having a ship like that in here, full of a bunch of humans—” Yixing shivers and shakes his head. “I could barely stand it. Now it’s just you and you’re only half human, so your presence doesn’t bother me at all.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” Kyungsoo agrees. “But you were saying that you want to go get the gem from Chanyeol?”

“Yes.” Yixing moves away from the wall and goes to the pond, water only reaching up to his ankles. He waves his hands over the gem stand and a map appears. “I thought all hope was lost when your family got the gem because the castle is too far inland for me to get to, plus the guards and other security. It wouldn’t have been possible to recover. But now…” Yixing adjusts the map with his fingers to show Chanyeol’s ship. It’s a small drawn ship that moves with the little waves around it. All in all like the maps Sehun reviews in his room sometimes, but this one is alive. Kyungsoo can feel it’s heartbeat with each little movement.

“Can we follow the map directly to Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo asks. “Let me rephrase. Can we take it with us as we swim or do we need to memorize that?” Yixing doesn’t answer. Instead, he reaches out for Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo takes a step into the pond and takes Yixing’s hand. Suddenly the way to Chanyeol feels so clear. Kyungsoo knows exactly where and how to swim to get him there as quickly as possible.

“Crazy, right?” Yixing asks.

“This is so weird,” Kyungsoo mumbles. “But really cool at the same time.”

“Any final questions before we begin our trip to catch Chanyeol?” Kyungsoo shakes his head and the two of them step out of the pond, walking out through the shining blue lights again. “The lily pads here are to prevent the sirens from getting any great ideas and stealing from me. Everything worked pretty well until the royal navy showed up here.”

“Yeah, I have no idea what they were thinking. The pearl got placed on a tiara that I got for my birthday from Sehun. I didn’t know when I walked in here that the gem in my tiara was this magic pearl. If I had known I would have brought it with me and pretended to find it,” Kyungsoo explains as him and Yixing walk along the edge of the lily pad room.

They reach the next room and Yixing immediately dives into the pool below. Kyungsoo swallows harshly, pinches his nose and cannonballs into the water with a huge splash.

Blinking his eyes, Kyungsoo can see everything clearly again and feels his legs morph together. Yixing is in front of him, looking him over.

“You’re a really pretty mermaid, I must say,” Yixing comments. “Not many have as lovely a scale design as you.” Kyungsoo looks down and indeed his scales seem to shimmer in the light. He also notices the way his fingers are now webbed together, making it easier to swim, but less ability to move his fingers around.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo replies. “But don’t we have to somehow catch up to Chanyeol’s ship now?”

“That we do,” Yixing says. “You aren’t that adjusted to swimming yet, so we can take it a bit slower and if you get tired let me know.” Kyungsoo nods and they swim out of the cove and into the ocean.

One weird thing about swimming in the ocean is that Kyungsoo isn’t afraid. He never was allowed to go into the ocean as a kid, which made him a bit scared of water and seeing such an endless sea seemed like the kind of thing that would bring that fear back, but it didn’t. Kyungsoo swims freely with Yixing, his tail propelling him forward as he goes.

“Honestly, it shouldn’t be more than a day or so before we reach Chanyeol,” Yixing reassures.

“That’s good, but don’t mermaids also need to sleep?” Kyungsoo asks. If they sleep for eight hours it’ll surely be more than a day for them to catch up to Chanyeol.

“Oh, right,” Yixing says and a bit of fear runs through Kyungsoo. “I don’t need to sleep because I’m guardian of the pearl and stuff, but you’re only a half mermaid, so you’ll need to sleep eventually. We can find a good rock to rest on.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. I can take a nap or just stay guard, I’m good either way,” Yixing replies and Kyungsoo hums in agreement. At least Yixing seems to have a well thought out plan for all of this.

“Thank you,” Kyungsoo says.

They swim until the sea goes dark and Kyungsoo curls up on a large sea rock with his head on Yixing’s tail. Yixing vows to keep guard for the night which is enough to let Kyungsoo drift off.

* * *

Kyungsoo wakes on his own with Yixing’s hand playing with his hair. When Kyungsoo stirs, Yixing yanks his hand away like he’s been burned.

“Good morning,” Yixing says, voice tense and Kyungsoo sits up and yawns. Who knew that mermaids could yawn underwater? 

“Good morning, I still feel the pull of the pearl, this is so weird,” Kyungsoo replies. “I’m feeling well rested though, I’m ready to do another day of swimming.

“Perfect,” Yixing replies, pushing off the rock and swims up a few feet. Kyungsoo follows and the two of them come up closer to the surface. “How did you sleep?”

“I slept great, the hair petting was appreciated,” Kyungsoo replies. It’s really strange swimming with no shirt on, not that Kyungsoo has much experience to the contrary. Yixing doesn’t reply and Kyungsoo laughs. “I really don’t mind it, don't worry. You’re a sympathetic person.”

“I’m not really a person, but I appreciate the comment anyway,” Yixing says.

“That’s a good point.” Kyungsoo hums. “You are the second being to see me like this or even know about like… my bosom.”

“Bosom is such a funny word.” Yixing laughs.

“Yes, but I have no other word to describe how I am,” Kyungsoo whines. “My body is female, but I am not a woman at all. I’m a man, but the English language doesn’t grant me those terms.”

“I’m sorry, Kyungsoo. I understand what it’s like to be the different one among others. It sucks and can be alienating, so I wouldn’t blame you for keeping your bosom a secret, at least to those you don’t fully trust. But if someone finds out and you need to have some sirens sent out on them, I’m here,” Yixing explains. “I hope that’s some form of reassuring.”

“It really is. It makes me feel valid in this strange sense because even though you aren’t the same as me. You’re also not unanimously accepted by society. You’re a literal mermaid,” Kyungsoo rambles. “Oh god, this is going to give me a headache.”

“I felt that,” Yixing replies. “But that’s okay, you can feel we are getting closer to the pearl, right?”

“Yeah, I can feel it!” Kyungsoo exclaims. It’s a really good feeling— like he can sense exactly how far he’s gotten and how much farther there is to go.

Kyungsoo shoots out in front of Yixing a few feet and Yixing laughs, saying, “I will race you to five hundred feet further with a fifteen second head start.”

“I don’t know what either of those numbers really mean in relation to this, but you’re on,” Kyungsoo cheers, swimming as fast as he can without looking back.

Everything is going smooth until a net catches Kyungsoo off guard. He tries to detangle himself and Yixing screams. Kyungsoo’s eyes slide upwards as the net drags himself upward and out of the water. He’s set onto the deck of the ship and finds himself looking at Sehun and Junmyeon.

This is bad.

Kyungsoo’s legs aren’t morphing back for some reason, and there are too many eyes on him all at once. Maybe fear is preventing him from shifting. The only other times he’s been able to go back and forth were when he wasn’t afraid, relaxed even, or needed to do it.

“Get the mermaid in the tank,” Junmyeon directs, eyes not looking away from Kyungsoo. Everyone starts moving again and arms of navy crew members lift him up out of the net and carry him through the kitchens into a small back room. It’s dim, but there’s a huge tank in there full of caught seafood.

Kyungsoo is going to share a tank with a bunch of fish. This is arguably the most humiliating thing to ever happen to him. He’s dumped into the tank and while his tail feels better (fish out of water is not an expression Kyungsoo wished to relate to, Kyungsoo’s ego has hit a new low.

The soldiers leave and Kyungsoo is left there. He tries to talk to the fish for entertainment, but they don’t reply at all. This is the weirdest situation ever. Kyungsoo sighs. 

He needs to get off this ship somehow. Maybe when they stop for the night, he can climb out of the top and dive into the sea. That will make it hard to find Yixing, but he really can’t stay this close to Sehun and Junmyeon. One of them will recognize him sooner or later.

Kyungsoo spends a few hours waiting for it to become dark. He can’t really tell the exact time it is outside, but he stops hearing noises from the kitchen and the ship is stopped somewhere, so it must be the end of the day for the royal navy.

Right as Kyungsoo is about to try and yank himself up and out of the water the door to this seafood closet is opened. Kyungsoo can’t decide if he’s surprised or not that Sehun is standing there. He looks the same as he did when Kyungsoo ran away— well put together and regal. Exactly as a royal should look. Sehun sits on the floor across from Kyungsoo and stares up at him.

“I’ve never seen a mermaid before,” Sehun starts. “I expected mermaids to like not exist, but this week has been a mess anyway. My big sister ran away from home and I think she was kidnapped by a pirate. So, I haven’t really slept.” Looking closer, Kyungsoo sees the eye-bags on Sehun’s face.

Kyungsoo wishes he could put into words how sorry he is for leaving without saying anything and to try and relieve some of Sehun’s worries.

“All I ever do is to help keep her safe, but maybe I shouldn’t have talked to Junmyeon…” Wait, what? Sehun doesn’t look inclined to continue, but Kyungsoo’s curiosity will kill him one of these days. He splays his hand against the tank and tries to get Sehun’s attention. Sehun’s eyes snap to Kyungsoo’s and it’s like he’s not even looking at him. “Do you want me to continue?” Kyungsoo nods his head and Sehun sighs. “It’s a really shitty thing to do, but it was for the best. Junmyeon was dating this pirate, Chanyeol, and they were actually pretty happy together, but the royal family and court were starting to catch on. They would have done something to Junmyeon or Chanyeol and that wouldn’t be fair to either of them so I told Junmyeon this and he panicked— he was really worried for Chanyeol’s safety. So Junmyeon broke it off in the worst way he could.”

Sehun pauses and takes a deep breath.

“I feel really guilty because it was my idea for an excuse, but Junmyeon told Chanyeol he didn’t really love him. Apparently, Chanyeol got really upset and stormed off somewhere. But now, no one thinks Junmyeon is involved with a pirate, so it’s saved them both in some kind of fucked up way. They went from being enemies to lovers and now back to enemies, but probably worse this time around because it’s personal.”

Kyungsoo has to resist dropping his jaw. How could he have been right when he made that hurtful comment to Chanyeol? Which, speaking of, is causing a bit of guilt on Kyungsoo’s side. But Chanyeol tried to kill Kyungsoo, so it’s not too bad at the moment. This really explains why Chanyeol looked like Kyungsoo ripped his heart out— it’s because he did.

“Can you talk?” Sehun asks and Kyungsoo shakes his head. Talking seems like a sure fire way to give himself up. As a mermaid, he looks a little less like himself than he already did. His skin is slightly grey, plus the gills and webbing add to that. “That’s too bad; you look like you would give good advice. And if you don’t have anything to say, I think I will say goodnight because I have an early morning tomorrow. But thank you for listening.”

Sehun climbs up off the ground and puts his hand to the tank. Kyungsoo presses his as close to Sehun’s as he can and they smile at each other. 

* * *

Kyungsoo wakes early the next morning to a fish sleeping on his face and lots of racket in the kitchen. Why do people cook so loudly? The door to Kyungsoo’s room opens again, but this time it’s Junmyeon.

For a moment, all Junmyeon does is stare at Kyungsoo who crosses his arms over his chest. He wishes Sehun were the one back in here because Sehun just needed some stress relief, but Junmyeon’s body language says the complete opposite.

“You really look like the boy who tackled me on the beach,” Junmyeon mutters. “And he looked like Princess Jeongyeon, but you can’t be her.” Damn right, Kyungsoo is Kyungsoo, no one else. “Call me crazy, but you’re either her long lost mermaid twin or there’s something fishy going on around here.”

Kyungsoo resists laughing at the word ‘fishy’ because this doesn’t seem like a laughing kind of scenario.

“All I want to do is find her.” Junmyeon sighs. “Maybe I’m starting to see things.” There’s a huge rumble, then lots of yelling from outside and Junmyeon is out the door before Kyungsoo can even formulate a visual reply. Another rumble shakes the entire ship, this one making Kyungsoo’s tank shake. Oh fuck, this cannot be good.

It takes two more shakes before Kyungsoo and all his new fish acquaintances are being knocked over. The force hurts and Kyungsoo’s ears ring for a moment, but he has to use the chaos to escape somehow. All he has to do is get overboard.

Then Kyungsoo notices something. The pulling feeling of the pearl is close. Close enough that Kyungsoo can sense it directly rather than a vague tug in his gut. Scrambling up, Kyungsoo is drawn to it. The pull is nearly painful, but before Kyungsoo can open the door, he remembers he’s naked again. Why can’t shifting grant him some dignity?

Peaking out around the door, Kyungsoo sees an apron hanging on a coat rack. That’s good enough for right now, Kyungsoo supposes. He yanks on the apron and marches through the kitchens which are now empty. Not a great sign, but better for Kyungsoo as he has a few more seconds to prepare for random people to see his naked ass.

Kyungsoo pushes open the kitchen doors, ready to run right off the boat— but then he makes eye contact with Chanyeol. Time seems to slow down and it’s only the two of them, staring at the other in disbelief. Chanyeol probably can’t believe Kyungsoo is alive and Kyungsoo can’t believe that Chanyeol is on Junmyeon’s ship.

Then the moment is over, broken by Junmyeon waving around his sword at Chanyeol. Chanyeol gets a grip and draws his own sword. Good god, this is a mess. They begin to duel, but Baekhyun jumps Junmyeon from behind and tickles him. This is something else.

Kyungsoo is all too happy to try and jump off the other side of the ship, but he sees Jongin with his gun pointed at Sehun and actions overtake thought. Kyungsoo lunges at Jongin, stealing his gun away and tossing it over the side.

Sehun stares at Kyungsoo, in shock of the turn of events and Jongin does the same thing, except he’s looking up from the ship deck.

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin exclaims. “How are you even alive?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Kyungsoo replies. “I’m leaving.”

“Like hell you’re not.” Baekhyun. A sword presses lightly against the back of Kyungsoo’s neck. This is the absolute worst day to be mostly naked. “Chanyeol, I have Kyungsoo. What do you want with him?”

“Take Kyungsoo and the prince back to our ship; I have Junmyeon,” Chanyeol replies. Oh, this is amazing. Quite splendid even. Baekhyun forces Kyungsoo up and ties his wrists, and Jongin does the same to Sehun.

“I want to ask why you’re only wearing an apron, but that feels inappropriate,” Sehun says. “You were the one with the fish, right?”

“Yeah,” Kyungsoo admits. He realizes that Sehun is being vague intentionally so as not to tip off Baekhyun and Jongin.

There’s a walkway set up across both ships. Longboards are side by side, connecting the two. Kyungsoo and Sehun walk in front of Baekhyun and Jongin, who are in front of Junmyeon and Chanyeol. They make it all the way to the other side and safely on Chanyeol’s ship without anyone falling into the water, which would be bad for anyone that’s not Kyungsoo.

The pull of the pearl is so strong, Kyungsoo is nearly dizzy. He needs to get his hands on it soon or else he’s going to start attacking people. It has to be in Chanyeol’s pocket, there’s nowhere else. The boards are pulled away, preventing anyone else from Junmyeon’s ship getting onto Chanyeol’s.

“Full steam ahead!” Chanyeol calls out to Jongdae, Kyungsoo assumes as the ship immediately starts moving again. But before Chanyeol, or anyone else can speak, Kyungsoo breaks his bonds with sheer force and tackles Chanyeol to the ground.

“Where’s the pearl?” Kyungsoo shrieks, fumbling around with all of Chanyeol’s pockets. There are others grabbing at him in seconds, but that doesn’t stop him. His hand closes around the pearl and the pain in his gut finally goes away.

Baekhyun and Jongin pry at Kyungsoo’s hand, but he bites them if they get too close. It’s only now that Kyungsoo notices how one of Baekhyun’s hands has been replaced with a hook. Baekhyun losing his hand feels like forever ago. Kyungsoo wriggles away from all of them and is ready to jump off again, but someone familiar stops him. 

“Yixing!” Kyungsoo screams. Yixing is hanging over the side, in full mermaid mode. Kyungsoo pulls him over and everyone gasps, backing away.

“Thank you, Kyungsoo,” Yixing replies, taking the pearl from Kyungsoo. He shifts back into his human form in front of everyone, causing another wave of gasps. Yixing stands proudly buck naked and Kyungsoo is jealous of his confidence. “Quit stealing from mermaids, it’s rude.”

“Yeah, sorry, Yixing,” Kyungsoo says.

“Oh, you’re fine. We have established that you’re valid and just trying to live your best life, but the rest of you—” Yixing glares at everyone on the ship. “Paws off. Also which one of you is Sehun?” No one raises their hand and Yixing looks to Kyungsoo.

“The one right there,” Kyungsoo replies, pointing to Sehun.

“You’re Sehun? I’ll kill you!” Yixing exclaims and Kyungsoo grabs Yixing before he can charge Sehun.

“He’s fine, chill out.”

“Alright, what the fuck is going on?” Chanyeol asks. “All I know is that there’s a mermaid on my ship who’s trying to cuss everyone out.”

“Ahem, I’m Yixing, protector of the pearl. I was the one whose sirens ate your friend’s hand. Price of trespassing, I say,” Yixing says and Baekhyun lunges at Yixing, who just sideswipes him. “Try again. I’m close to four hundred years old and have plenty of practice with these legs.” Baekhyun screams, but doesn’t chase Yixing anymore.

“I’m also confused,” Junmyeon comments and Chanyeol shoots him a glare.

“This is a mess,” Kyungsoo mumbles. “Everyone put your fucking weapons down for like five minutes while everyone gets caught up to speed. Does anyone have a clue who I am?”

“Kyungsoo?” Jongin offers.

“Okay, yes, that is the correct answer, but I am also the princess Chanyeol supposedly kidnapped—”

“Jeongyeon?” Sehun gasps.

“Jeongyeon!” Junmyeon exclaims.

“Jeongyeon?” Chanyeol questions.

“All of you shut it,” Kyungsoo says. “I was about to say, do not refer to me as that name or as any female pronouns. Contrary to the contents under this apron, I am a guy and I expect to be referred to as such.”

“So you were telling the truth,” Chanyeol mumbles, ears turning a deep red.

“Are you coming home?” Sehun asks.

“Great question— no. I would like to rejoin Chanyeol’s crew since there is now evidence that proves I was wrongfully forced to walk the plank,” Kyungsoo replies.

“You made her— him walk the plank?” Junmyeon is up in an instant and on Chanyeol, ready to strike. “What is wrong with you?”

“What is wrong with you?” Chanyeol counters. “You’re the one that dated me to protect your fucking kingdom.”

“That’s not true,” Sehun interjects. “I told Junmyeon he had to break up with you because the royal family was getting close to find out about your relationship.” This only seems to anger Chanyeol even more.

“I don’t even know you, but I swear to god,” Chanyeol grunts, trying to force Junmyeon off him so he can go fight Sehun.

“All of you need to chill the fuck out,” Kyungsoo shouts and everyone falls silent except for Chanyeol.

“No! This isn’t your fucking ship! I’m the one in charge here. Fuck you for being a lying asshole,” Chanyeol screams and Junmyeon looks about ready to sock him in the nose.

“What are you even talking about? The fact that I was running away from the royal family and don’t identify with the gender I was born as are two things that could get me fucking killed if I told the wrong person,” Kyungsoo screams back. If Chanyeol is going to be an asshole for no reason, he should get everything out now.

“You could have told me,” Chanyeol replies, anger dropping from his voice.

“You fucking knew about the gender shit when we kissed,” Kyungsoo points out, voice still shaking with anger. “You told me that you liked me for me and you didn’t care, but then the next day you didn’t say a single thing about it to me. Or the day after that. Or any of the other fucking days.” Kyungsoo is getting hysterical. He’s four seconds away from jumping into the ocean and never looking back, but Chanyeol’s face changes.

“We kissed?”

“Yeah!”

“I don’t remember it at all. I must have been too drunk,” Chanyeol mumbles. “I had no idea that even happened. The day after I thought you betrayed us is the first time I even heard anything like this and I was convinced you were a spy, why would I have believed your story?” Next to him, Yixing sucks in a gasp, and Kyungsoo would glare at him, but someone else did the same thing.

“Oh.” Kyungsoo slumps again at the edge of the ship, back pressed into the rail. This certainly changes things.

“I think we might need to finish this conversation in private,” Chanyeol replies and Kyungsoo nods. “Anyone else have any other issues we need to deal with?” No one says anything. “Great, so truce between everyone. Sehun and Junmyeon, do you two need to return to your ship or do you want me to take you home?”

“It might actually be better if you take us home,” Sehun says. “Everyone back home thinks you kidnapped Kyungsoo, but we can spin it like you helped us.”

“Yeah, that’s for the best,” Junmyeon agrees.

“That’s a two day journey, so you two will have to stay on the ship. But there are not enough beds,” Chanyeol says. “Since everything has been straightened out, Sehun and Junmyeon need to sleep on beds and not the floor. Currently, there are five bedrooms on this ship including mine. Kyungsoo had been staying in the one guest one, so I suggest Sehun and Junmyeon share that one.”

“That won’t be an issue,” Sehun replies and Junmyeon gives Sehun a strange look that Kyungsoo decides isn’t worth commenting on.

“Still means Kyungsoo needs somewhere to sleep though, Yixing as well?” Chanyeol asks and Yixing shakes his head.

“The pearl is supposed to guide me to my soulmate, so I want to do that as soon as possible. But Kyungsoo, you can always find me if you need me. Just trust your gut,” Yixing says and Kyungsoo nods, enveloping Yixing in a hug before letting him dive over the side of the ship.

“Well, Kyungsoo can stay in my room as it’s larger. If that’s okay with him,” Chanyeol stutters out.

All arrangements are made, the day goes mostly smooth and Jongdae serves everyone good food, which helps any accidental tensions.

At night, Kyungsoo lets himself into Chanyeol’s room and finds Chanyeol sitting on his bed, already in pajamas.

“Did you mean what you said that night?” Kyungsoo asks. “Did you mean it when you said you liked me?”

“I did.” Chanyeol sucks in a breath. “That’s why I was so angry about the pearl, I thought you were the perfect guy for me, but then you lying really hurt me and I snapped which I am sorry for.”

“Thank you, but I also want to apologize for not trying to communicate better,” Kyungsoo replies. “I really like you still and I just want for everything to work out in the end, but this isn’t a fairytale and that means we both have to be on the same page.”

“I agree.” Neither of them says anything for a moment. 

“Do you remember that I.O.U, you promised me?” Kyungsoo asks and Chanyeol nods. “I want to use it now. I want for you to kiss me like there is no tomorrow.”

“I can most certainly do that,” Chanyeol replies. Kyungsoo removes his shoes and begins to unbutton his shirt. Chanyeol’s eyes don’t leave Kyungsoo’s fingers until his shirt is being dropped onto the ground. Chanyeol sucks in a breath and Kyungsoo feels a bit of pride in that. He crosses the room to Chanyeol’s bed and climbs on top, settling in Chanyeol’s lap.

Chanyeol lays back flat and Kyungsoo brings his mouth down to press their lips together softly. Little butterflies fill Kyungsoo’s stomach as Chanyeol’s hands slide up Kyungsoo’s sides, coming to hold at his waist.

Chanyeol breaks the kiss to mumble, “You’re so beautiful, Kyungsoo.”

“I think you’re beautiful too,” Kyungsoo whispers back, letting his mouth refind Chanyeol’s and deepen the kiss. Chanyeol moves away to press hot, open mouthed kisses down the column of Kyungsoo’s neck, who writhes in Chanyeol’s clutch.

Kyungsoo’s hands find their way to grip Chanyeol’s hair, who whimpers when Kyungsoo tugs a little bit too hard. Chanyeol lets up for a moment, catching his breath.

“Soo, is it okay for me to go lower or should I stop?” Chanyeol asks and Kyungsoo’s heart flutters. Asking Kyungsoo about his comfort makes him feel all the more safe in Chanyeol’s arms.

“Yes, please,” Kyungsoo replies. “Thank you for asking.” Chanyeol’s mouth moves away from Kyungsoo’s collarbones and down to his sternum, these kisses feather light, making goosebumps form on Kyungsoo’s skin.

Chanyeol’s mouth moves to the side and sucks a bit harsher on the soft flesh of Kyungsoo’s bosom while his hand caresses the other side. Kyungsoo’s insides feel as though they have been lit aflame and he can’t get enough of what Chanyeol is giving him.

After Chanyeol finds a particularly sensitive spot, Kyungsoo gasps. Chanyeol pulls back and gazes up at Kyungsoo. One of Kyungsoo’s hands cups Chanyeol’s cheek before bringing him in for another kiss. And then another. And another.

The two spend the entire night in each other's arms, finally with each other the way they were always destined to be.

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/occultclysms)   
>  [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.qa/carrotyeol)


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